Investigators find it unlikely that attack in Bakhtemir village was a terror act

The man, who was shot dead after attacking a policeman in the village of Bakhtemir of the Astrakhan Region, had not attracted law enforcers' attention and was not registered by psychiatrists. No terrorist motives can be seen in the attacker's actions, the spokesman of the regional branch of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 24, in the village of Bakhtemir, Astrakhan Region, law enforcers shot a man dead. According to their version, the man walked around the village with a rifle, and was the first to shoot a policeman who is now in coma – he received wounds in the chest and the head. On February 25, investigators announced that a marijuana growing laboratory had been found in the house of the attacker.

The attacker was killed by a serviceman of the "Rosgvardia" (Russian National Guard), who was an eyewitness of the incident.

According to law enforcers, the man drew attention by his inadequate behaviour – he walked around the village talking to himself. Investigators do not know yet whether the man was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident – the answer will be given by experts, who will perform an autopsy. "It has not been established yet whether he cultivated [marijuana] for himself or for sale," the source said, adding that the version that the incident is related to terrorist motives is not considered.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 25, 2019 at 10:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.